Terms and conditions

About these terms

These terms apply to your use of IPEN Property: this website, the management app, the tenant portal, the Ipen Tenant mobile app and the IPEN marketplace (the "Services"). The Services are provided by Pensoft Systems Ltd ("Pensoft", "we", "us") of Northstar Building, Lenana Road, Kilimani, Nairobi, Kenya.

By creating an account or using the Services, you agree to these terms and to ourprivacy policy. If you accept them on behalf of a company or other business, you confirm that you have the authority to bind it. If an Organisation has a signed agreement with us, that agreement takes priority over these terms where they conflict.

Words we use

• Organisation: a property management company, landlord, owner or letting agent that subscribes toIPEN Property to manage property.
• User: anyone with an account, including Organisation staff, owners, vendors, tenants and applicants.
• Tenant: a person renting a unit managed by an Organisation through IPEN Property.
• Organisation Data: the information an Organisation or its Users put into the Services, such as properties, leases, tenants, invoices and payments.

Accounts and access

• You must be 18 or older and give accurate details, including a mobile number you control.
• Keep your sign-in codes and devices secure, and never share a one-time code with anyone. Pensoft staff will never ask you for one.
• You are responsible for activity on your account. Tell us straight away if you think it has been misused.
• Organisations decide who joins their account and with what role. They are responsible for removing access when someone leaves.

If you are an Organisation

As an Organisation, you agree that:

• you have the right to manage the properties you add, and the information you give during verification (KYC) is true and complete;
• the rent, deposits, utilities, penalties, VAT and other charges you set up are lawful, agreed with your Tenants and correctly entered;
• you comply with the laws that apply to you, including landlord and tenant law, consumer protection law, tax law and the Data Protection Act, 2019;
• you are the data controller for the information you hold about Tenants, owners and vendors. You must have a lawful basis for it, and you must tell those people how their information is used. Pensoft processes it on your behalf as described in our privacy policy;
• you deal with your Tenants' questions and complaints about their tenancy, charges and repairs; and
• you review owner payouts and vendor payments before approving them.

Rent, payments and payouts

• Money goes to the Organisation, not to us. Rent is collected into the Organisation's own M-Pesa paybill or bank account. Pensoft does not hold Tenants' or owners' money, and it is not a bank or a payment service provider.
• A payment counts once the payment network (for example Safaricom M-Pesa) confirms it. Safaricom, banks and other providers charge their own fees under their own terms.
• Payments that cannot be matched automatically are held in a suspense queue until the Organisation allocates them. If you are a Tenant, quote your lease code as the account number when you pay by paybill.
• Disagreements about how much rent is owed, or how a payment was allocated, are between the Tenant and the Organisation. We will provide the records we hold to help resolve them.
• Owner payouts and vendor payments are made from the Organisation's accounts after approval inside the Organisation. The Organisation is responsible for the accuracy of payout details and approvals.
• We are not responsible for delays or failures caused by M-Pesa, banks or other payment networks. We will help trace a payment where we can.

Tax features

IPEN Property can work out Monthly Rental Income tax from actual collections at the current rate, record the iTax payment reference (PRN) and help make payment to KRA. These are tools, not tax advice. Owners and Organisations remain responsible for registering, filing and paying the right tax on time, and for checking the figures before they rely on them.

If you are a tenant

• The tenant portal is free for Tenants. Normal M-Pesa and bank charges still apply.
• Your lease is between you and your landlord or the Organisation managing the property, not with Pensoft. Your rent, deposit, repairs and refunds are governed by your lease and the law.
• Receipts and statements in the portal reflect the records kept by your Organisation. If something looks wrong, raise it with them through the portal or directly.
• Report repairs honestly, with accurate descriptions and photos. Emergencies such as fire, gas leaks or serious flooding should be reported to the emergency services and your Organisation by phone as well.

The marketplace

• Listings are published by Organisations, who are responsible for them being accurate, lawful and available. We verify Organisations before they can list, but we do not inspect every property or guarantee any listing.
• When you apply, your application goes to the Organisation that listed the home, which decides whether to accept it. Pensoft does not take part in that decision.
• Stay safe: view a property, and confirm who you are dealing with, before you pay anything. Pay only through the channels shown in IPEN Property, and report any suspicious listing to us atinfo@pensoft.co.ke.
• We may remove listings or suspend Organisations that break these terms or appear fraudulent.

Insurance

Tenant, owner and building cover offered through IPEN Property is provided by the partner insurer named on your quote or policy, under that insurer's policy terms. Pensoft passes your details to the insurer and adds premiums to your invoices where you choose that. Pensoft is not the insurer, does not decide claims and does not give insurance advice. Read the policy document before you accept a quote.

Fees

• Organisations pay the subscription fees in their quote or order, which are based on the number of units and the modules used. Unless the quote says otherwise, fees are invoiced monthly in Kenya shillings, exclusive of VAT, and payable within 14 days of the invoice date.
• We may change fees for an upcoming billing period by giving at least 30 days' written notice. The new fees apply from the start of that period.
• If fees are overdue, we may suspend access after giving notice. Suspension does not delete your data.
• Tenants, applicants and marketplace visitors are not charged for using the Services.

Acceptable use

You must not:

• use the Services for anything unlawful, fraudulent or misleading, including fake listings or false charges;
• send spam, or send messages to people who have not agreed to hear from you;
• upload content that is abusive, discriminatory or infringes anyone's rights;
• access another Organisation's data, or try to get around security or role restrictions;
• probe, overload or disrupt the Services, or use bots or scraping without our written permission; or
• copy, resell or reverse engineer the Services, except where the law allows.

Your data

• Organisation Data belongs to the Organisation. You give us permission to host, process and back it up only as needed to provide and support the Services, as your processor under the Data Protection Act, 2019.
• We may use anonymised, aggregated information that does not identify any person or Organisation to run and improve the Services.
• You can export your data while your subscription is active, and for 30 days after it ends. After that we delete or anonymise Organisation Data, except records we must keep by law, such as financial and tax records.

Our software and brand

The Services, including the software, design and the IPEN Property name and logo, belong to Pensoft or its licensors. We give you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable right to use the Services while you follow these terms. Ideas and feedback you send us may be used freely to improve the Services. M-Pesa is a trademark of Safaricom PLC, and other names belong to their owners.

Availability and support

We work to keep the Services available and secure, but they may sometimes be unavailable, for example during maintenance or because of problems with networks or partners outside our control. We will try to give notice of planned maintenance. Support is available by email, phone and WhatsApp during business hours, unless your agreement with us says otherwise. We may improve or change features over time. If we remove a feature an Organisation relies on, we will give reasonable notice.

Third-party services

The Services connect to providers such as Safaricom M-Pesa, banks, Kenya Revenue Authority, SMS and email providers and partner insurers. Your use of their services is governed by their terms. We are not responsible for their acts, omissions or availability.

Suspension and ending

• Organisations may end their subscription with 30 days' written notice, or as set out in their quote or agreement. Tenants and other Users may stop using the Services at any time.
• We may suspend or close an account if it breaks these terms, if fees remain unpaid after notice, or where needed to prevent fraud, protect other Users or comply with the law. Where it is reasonable, we will warn you first and give you a chance to put things right.
• When access ends, the data export window in Your data applies. Sections that by their nature should continue, such as those on fees owed, data, liability and disputes, continue to apply.

Disclaimers and liability

We provide the Services with reasonable skill and care. Beyond that, and as far as the law allows, they are provided "as is", without any other promises. In particular, we do not promise that calculations, reports or tax figures will suit your specific situation, and you should review them before you rely on them.

As far as the law allows:

• we are not liable for indirect or consequential losses, or for lost profits, revenue, rent or data, however caused;
• our total liability to an Organisation arising out of the Services in any 12 months is limited to the fees it paid us in those 12 months; and
• our total liability to any other User is limited to KES 10,000.

Nothing in these terms limits liability for fraud, or for death or personal injury caused by negligence, or any rights you have as a consumer that cannot be excluded under Kenyan law, including the Consumer Protection Act, 2012.

Organisations will compensate Pensoft for claims by third parties, including their Tenants and owners, that arise from the Organisation's breach of these terms, its charges or listings, or its use of Organisation Data.

Changes to these terms

We may update these terms as the Services or the law change. We will update the date at the top of this page. For significant changes, we will tell account holders at least 30 days before they take effect. If you keep using the Services after that, you accept the updated terms. If you do not agree, you can stop using the Services, and Organisations can end their subscription.

Law and disputes

These terms are governed by the laws of Kenya. If a dispute arises, contact us first: both sides will try in good faith to resolve it within 30 days. If that fails, the dispute may be taken to the courts of Kenya sitting in Nairobi, which have jurisdiction.

General

• These terms, together with any quote or agreement you have with us, are the whole agreement about the Services.
• If part of these terms cannot be enforced, the rest still applies.
• If we do not enforce a right straight away, we can still enforce it later.
• You may not transfer your rights under these terms without our consent. We may transfer ours to a company that takes over the Services, under the same terms.
• Neither side is responsible for delays caused by events beyond its reasonable control, such as power or network outages, failures at payment networks, or natural events.
• We may send notices by email, SMS or in the app. Send notices to us using the details below.